Commemoration of Cole: Making peace with Ben
by Charmed-Triquetra
Summary: The first in my Cole tribute series- this one is about his father. Contains spoilers if u haven't seen past ep Coyote Piper...Complete
1. Looking Back

Phoebe Halliwell wandered back and forth across her bedroom, it looked so  
  
empty. Yes, Cole hadn't been living there since they were newly weds- then  
  
they had moved into the penthouse, but since Cole had died, the place just  
  
felt so lonely.  
  
This time, Cole was definitely gone for good. When he used his newly  
  
found powers to change reality so he could be with Phoebe, he became  
  
Belthazor once again, and Piper, Paige and herself were able to vanquish  
  
him, now that he was no longer indestructible. She was finally free of him,  
  
after all this time; when the bounty hunters that attacked constantly when he  
  
was Belthazor, what she went through when Cole became the Source and  
  
she became his queen, and of course the pain of accepting Cole's vanquish  
  
as the Source.  
  
Phoebe was finally getting her life back together and came so close to  
  
divorcing Cole, and then he used his new demonic powers to return to Earth  
  
from the demonic afterlife. She suffered so much during Cole's twisted  
  
attempts to get her back; Bacarra, the mummifying, the kidnapping, and the  
  
switching of reality... and now he's finally gone.  
  
She had so many reasons to hate him, to be glad that he was no more,  
  
but she couldn't help but miss him. Cole may have done many awful things,  
  
but he did a lot of good in the last 3 years. If it weren't for him, Piper would  
  
have died during her vigilante stage (when all she wanted to do was chase  
  
dangerous demons regardless of the consequences); Phoebe may have not  
  
been able to reach Paige before Shax attacked her for the first time; they may  
  
not have found out that Paige was another Charmed One, and when the  
  
power broker attacked, Paige would have died if Cole hadn't jumped in with a  
  
solution even when Paige almost killed him. Cole helped Phoebe through the  
  
grief of losing Prue.  
  
Phoebe swallowed. This was dangerous ground she was treading on.  
  
The last thing she needed now was a heart full of sorrow over a demon. She  
  
collapsed on her bed and looked to her right. The first thing that caught her  
  
eye was a picture of her and Cole that Prue had taken of them at P3 before  
  
they discovered that he was the demon they had been hunting. Against her  
  
own freewill, she stretched out her arm and picked up the photo to look at it.  
  
She was overcome with dizziness- the kind she had before she was hit by a  
  
premonition... 


	2. Phoebe's Vision

A man ran through a forest-like area, clutching a baby in his arms. A horrid  
  
looking demon followed him and leapt on him, pushing him away and  
  
grabbing the baby at the same time. The man yelled out, but the demon  
  
zapped him with demonic electricity, killing him.  
  
Tarkin, Raynor and Cole in the underworld. Cole shimmers out, Tarkin  
  
turns to Raynor and says "You think he'll do it?"  
  
"You keep pulling the bottle in front of him, sooner or later he's gonna take a  
  
drink." Raynor replies. Tarkin creases his eyebrows,  
  
"What if he doesn't?" A bright glowing ball appears in Raynor's hand,  
  
"Don't worry, I have insurance."  
  
Cole talking to Raynor. Cole frowns,  
  
"You don't care about the amulets. You only care about turning me against  
  
Phoebe." Raynor's smug smile doesn't fade,  
  
"How smart, yet foolish enough to fall in love."  
  
"Loving her is the best thing that ever happened to me," Cole objected, "You  
  
can destroy me, but you can't change that."  
  
"After all that I have taught you and all that I have given you, you're willing to  
  
give it all up for a witch?"  
  
"I'm not going to kill for you, Raynor. Not anymore." Raynor shows Cole the  
  
glowing ball,  
  
"Not even for your father's soul?"  
  
"How did you get that?" Cole demanded, "The Source?"  
  
"I'll promise to free him if you've fulfilled your end of the bargain. Kill the witch,  
  
finish your obligations, and you and your father will be free."  
  
Raynor, Cole, Leo and Jenna in the attic. Leo and Jenna are  
  
unconscious on the floor. Raynor waves his hand over Cole's face. Cole yells,  
  
changes into Belthazor, and throws an energy ball at Jenna, killing her.  
  
Phoebe, Cole, Prue, Piper and Leo in the attic. Prue and Piper are bent  
  
over Leo who is still unconscious. Cole and Phoebe are arguing,  
  
"It's already too late. You killed an innocent woman. There's no turning back  
  
from that."  
  
"I didn't want to kill her. You've gotta understand that, I can still be good."  
  
"There's nothing good in you anymore."  
  
"Phoebe, please. Save me."  
  
"Save yourself." Phoebe smashes Cole's power-stripping potion on the floor.  
  
Cole shimmers out.  
  
Raynor, in a cave in the underworld. Cole shimmers in.  
  
"I knew you'd come back. I've been waiting for you." Raynor gleamed,  
  
"My father's soul. Where is it?" Cole demanded. Raynor conjures it up and  
  
Cole takes it from him, nursing it gently.  
  
"Of course, now that you're evil, what can you do with it?"  
  
"How did you get me to do it? A spell?" Cole asked. Raynor smiled,  
  
"Does it matter? But you enjoyed it, didn't you, killing the witch?"  
  
"Not as much as I'm gonna enjoy this." Cole stabs Raynor in the stomach,  
  
"You killed Phoebe's love for me, and now I'm gonna watch you die."  
  
Cole in the penthouse, about a year later. He is writing a letter. It says,  
  
'Phoebe, if I'm dead right now, I know it was at your hand. No one else in  
  
heaven or hell had power over me. Please don't cry, I was dead before I met  
  
you, I was born the day you loved me, and my love for you will keep me alive,  
  
forever.' Cole puts the letter in an envelope that says 'Phoebe' on it, and puts  
  
it in the penthouse safe. Cole wipes away a stray tear and looks away as he  
  
shuts the safe, not noticing the glowing ball containing his father's soul roll  
  
out. It lands on the floor and rolls under a sofa. 


	3. The Plan

Phoebe blinked as the premonition ended. She hadn't had a premonition that  
  
attenuated for quite a long time. It had been several snippets combined to  
  
formulate a story: Cole's. It didn't do justice to what Cole did to her, but it  
  
explained some of the things he had done, like killing that witch, Jenna, which  
  
had planted the first seed of doubt into her heart. For a while, she had even  
  
blamed that incident for Prue's death- back then, she had thought that if Cole  
  
hadn't killed Jenna, she would not have needed to save him from evil  
  
influence on the day that she lost her eldest sister. If she hadn't gone to the  
  
Underworld, she would have been able to cast the spell to turn back time  
  
(which required the Power of Three to cast), Leo wouldn't have needed to go  
  
to the Underworld to get Cole to summon Tempus and therefore would have  
  
got back to the Manor in time to heal both Piper and Prue.  
  
Phoebe shook the thoughts out of her head- one sorrow at a time: she  
  
didn't need to tap into the pain of losing Prue when she was trying to figure  
  
out what her latest premonition was for.  
  
She had recognised the first snippet of her vision: the demon taking the  
  
child away from his father. The demon was Cole's mother- she had stolen  
  
Cole away from his mortal father and killed him. Cole had never had a chance  
  
to be when his mother nurtured Belthazor only, and though Cole had been  
  
alive for 117 years, he never forgot his father. and the Brotherhood had  
  
used that as blackmail to sway Cole/Belthazor back to their side. Maybe  
  
Benjamin Turner was the key to connecting with Cole again, to remember his  
  
good side: his human half.  
  
Had Ben's spirit been released? Doubtful, when there were so many  
  
demons around: whether it was the bounty hunters that came after Belthazor,  
  
or the upper level demons that followed Cole when the Source possessed  
  
him, or even when Barbas had stalked him. Phoebe's mind flashed back to  
  
the end of the vision- when Cole had put his goodbye letter to Phoebe in the  
  
penthouse safe: the orb containing his father's soul had rolled out and gone  
  
underneath the couch. There was one problem- after Cole had been  
  
vanquished as the Source, and the failed attempt after he had tempted the  
  
sisters to kill him, and then the suicide missions using head choppers and full  
  
force energy balls, the couch had pretty much been wiped out of existence.  
  
What had happened to the orb? How was she going to find it?  
  
"Paige!" Phoebe called out before she realised what she was doing.  
  
Paige had hated Cole, and it hurt Phoebe when she found out, even though  
  
she knew Paige did have a good reason to dislike her boyfriend. Would her  
  
half sister be keen on locating the soul of the father of the man she had  
  
hated? Phoebe was sick of asking questions to herself: even if Paige detested  
  
Cole, technically Ben was an innocent. And Phoebe was her sister.  
  
Paige wandered in, dressed in her usual household style- jeans that  
  
were too short for her long legs and a T-shirt she had borrowed from her  
  
adoptive mother when she was 16. Paige was not one to wear out of style or  
  
unflattering clothes out of the house, but inside with no plans, Paige wore the  
  
first thing that she picked up in the morning.  
  
"What's up sis?" Paige asked as she entered. Phoebe met her gaze squarely,  
  
"I just had a premonition." Paige's brown eyes widened,  
  
"What happened? What did you see?"  
  
"Snippets- Cole."  
  
"Cole? Honey, he's dead. He's not an innocent that needs saving." Phoebe  
  
didn't say anything.  
  
"Sorry Phoebs," Paige apologised after realising how blunt she had sounded,  
  
"But why would you have a premonition about a man who is not an innocent  
  
or good guy anymore."  
  
"Cole may have not been a good guy, but his father was- he's our innocent."  
  
"Cole's father? Didn't he die in the 1800s?"  
  
"1888. His soul has been trapped in an orb since he died. The Brotherhood  
  
blackmailed Cole with it, and Cole still had it when he was vanquished. My  
  
premonition told me that it's still in the penthouse, but the couch that it was  
  
hidden under is long gone."  
  
"How does this involve me?"  
  
"Well, you are half-whitelighter- do you have the ability to sense souls?"  
  
"I don't think so." Paige replied apologetically. Phoebe stood up, dropping  
  
the photo,  
  
"Please Paige. You've sensed evil before- and Leo's other charges as well.  
  
Could you please try? I don't owe Cole much, but his father deserves to be  
  
free after all this time." Paige sighed,  
  
"Okay, Phoebs, I'll try." Phoebe bounded over to Paige and hugged her sister,  
  
"Yay! Thank you, Paige. You have no idea how much this means to me." 


	4. Return to the Penthouse

Phoebe grimaced as she and Paige stepped out of the lift and into the  
  
penthouse. They would have orbed there but quite a lot of people suspected  
  
that Cole wasn't mortal, and the sisters didn't need that extra exposure either-  
  
especially since there were probably people watching them. Besides, Cole's  
  
magick was still guarding the penthouse- which meant that Paige wouldn't  
  
have been able to get in anyway; which meant that neither could Leo. Which  
  
is exactly why Phoebe and Paige hadn't told Piper where they were going.  
  
Cole had surrounded the penthouse with charms that didn't allowed pure  
  
benevolence inside its barrier and since whitelighters fell into that category,  
  
Leo wouldn't be able to protect them if anything happened. Piper would have  
  
been set against letting her sisters go somewhere when unprotected-  
  
especially Cole's place.  
  
Paige looked around. The room was completely trashed due to all the  
  
magickal activity that had occurred lately. The only thing that was still intact  
  
was a picture of Phoebe and Cole from when they were still together. Paige  
  
suspected that Cole had spelled it so that it wouldn't be harmed. On one  
  
hand, it was clingy and pathetic but, on the other hand, it was still undeniably  
  
sweet. Paige stopped trusting Cole over a year ago- when she discovered the  
  
ugly truths about his demonic half, Belthazor, but she secretly admired Cole's  
  
determination to get Phoebe back- despite how vile, twisted and irritating his  
  
attempts were. Even Paige would have to admit that no matter how much of a  
  
crackpot Cole had become, he never stopped loving Phoebe. Or his father, for  
  
that matter.  
  
Once again, Phoebe was hit by a tidal wave of memories- it was like a  
  
battle between the two halves of her heart: the half that spat out legit reasons  
  
to hate Cole, and the other that gave out compelling arguments to prove that it  
  
was okay to still want Cole nearby. Phoebe squashed the thoughts as soon as  
  
they arrived. No matter how confused her feelings were over Cole, she wasn't  
  
here for him- she was here for Ben. She turned to Paige,  
  
"Can you sense him?" Paige shook her head,  
  
"Haven't tried yet. Hold on a second."  
  
Paige closed her eyes and cast out her senses, feeling around for any sign of  
  
a presence other than herself and Phoebe. There was nothing.  
  
"I can't sense him, Phoebs." Paige apologised, "Maybe Cole's leftover magick  
  
is still blocking the signal."  
  
"Cole wouldn't want to block the signal from a whitelighter would he?" Phoebe  
  
replied, "Try again."  
  
Paige sighed and cast out her senses again. This time, she felt something. It  
  
was like a little light, with a small cry emanating from it.  
  
"Wait- I think I sense him." Paige announced, "He's over there." Paige pointed  
  
to her left. Phoebe walked in the direction her sister had pointed, closely  
  
followed by Paige. Sure enough, there was a glass orb- no bigger than a  
  
paperweight- sitting in the corner of the living room.  
  
Gingerly, Phoebe picked it up and used the hem of her blouse to wipe  
  
all the dust off of it. She hugged Paige,  
  
"It's him, all right. Thanks for helping Paige- I owe you one." Paige returned  
  
the embrace,  
  
"No problem, Phoebe." Paige stepped back, "What do we do now that we've  
  
got the orb?"  
  
"We go to Leo and ask him to help us set Ben free."  
  
"When Piper finds out, there's gonna be Hell to pay." Phoebe shrugged,  
  
"She'll get over it, I hope. After all, innocents come first."  
  
Phoebe slipped the orb into her handbag, and she and Paige headed back  
  
out of the penthouse. 


	5. Face to face with Piper

Commemoration of Cole- Part Five  
  
Phoebe and Paige hopped out of Paige's VW Beetle and walked towards the  
  
Halliwell Manor. Phoebe held her handbag tightly; she wasn't letting go of Benjamin's  
  
soul any time soon.  
  
Wordlessly, Paige opened the front door and they came face to face with Piper,  
  
standing in the hallway with her arms folded across her chest.  
  
"Hi Piper!" Paige greeted her sister cheerfully, attempting to hide her guilt of going  
  
behind the back of her sister.  
  
"Hey, hi. Where have you been?" Piper responded in the usual tone that she had  
  
when she was suspicious and irritated.  
  
"Well, Paige and I don't spend enough time together anymore- just doing some  
  
sisterly bonding between the middle sister and the youngest sister.  
  
sisterly.stuff." Phoebe put her arm over Paige's shoulder and gave her a slight  
  
hug; as if to prove her point. Not a good idea, since Piper definitely wasn't buying it,  
  
"Phoebe, I'm pregnant. Not stupid."  
  
"What do you mean?" Phoebe replied, keeping the cheesy grin on her face and  
  
giving her eldest sister the best 'hey, I'm innocent' look she could muster.  
  
"Come on Phoebe, everyone knows that when you lie, you smile so hard that your  
  
wisdom teeth come into view." Piper retorted, "Now, you two obviously did something  
  
witchy and you are going to tell me what it was or else my whining is going to be the  
  
least of your problems." Phoebe's arm slipped away from Paige's shoulders, which  
  
sagged in defeat. Phoebe slung her bag over her shoulder again, but still maintaining  
  
a tight grip,  
  
"I had a premonition earlier," she explained, "About Cole's father. Apparently, when  
  
Cole was vanquished he still kept the orb that held his father's soul. Paige and I went  
  
to the penthouse to find it." Phoebe fished the orb out of her bag and held it up for  
  
Piper to see. Piper shook her head,  
  
"Hold it- Cole's father's soul? Isn't that what the brotherhood bri-"  
  
"Yup." Phoebe clarified.  
  
"And you just went to Cole's place, where your powers don't work and Leo can't hear  
  
you, unprotected, and without the Power of Three?" Piper questioned.  
  
"Are you mad?" Paige asked.  
  
"Of course I am, Paige!" Piper exclaimed, "I am really sick of you guys putting me on  
  
a pedestal just because I am pregnant. I still have the most firepower, and in case  
  
you haven't noticed: my baby prefers that I'm indestructible."  
  
"But-" Paige attempted to interrupt.  
  
"Cole may be dead, but some of the demons that associated with him aren't." Piper  
  
continued, "Yes, quite a lot of them died when Phoebe sent the Shadow back into the  
  
nexus after Cole drew it out, but not all of them. There could have been demons lying  
  
in wait for the Charmed Ones to revisit."  
  
"Piper." Phoebe started.  
  
"Phoebe, I'm not angry at why you went- innocents are very important. I'm angry  
  
because you went to a potentially dangerous place without the Power of Three- and  
  
you guys obviously think I can't handle it if you don't even bother to let me know what  
  
is going on."  
  
"Piper, we are really sorry." Phoebe began again, "and Paige and I feel really guilty  
  
about it, but now-"  
  
"We have an innocent to save." Piper finished, "yeah, yeah, yeah."  
  
"Piper, can Leo orb Ben's soul out of here?" Paige asked, pointing at the orb.  
  
"He can't." Piper answered, "Leo is with another charge- for God knows how long.  
  
There must be a spell in the Book of Shadows." Paige held out her hands,  
  
"Book of Shadows." The Halliwell's ancient tome orbed into her hands. Piper and  
  
Phoebe gave their sister a warning look,  
  
"What?" Paige inquired, "Cole's father has been in that orb for over a century, I'm  
  
sure he wants to get out a.s.a.p."  
  
Phoebe shrugged at Piper, and all three sisters headed into the living room. 


	6. Free, after 115 years

Commemoration of Cole- Part Six  
  
"What are we looking for again?" Paige asked her sisters.  
  
"A spell to free a soul from a. prison," Phoebe replied, "for lack of a better term."  
  
"Didn't Prue write a spell similar to that during her 'we may die soon' kick?" Piper  
  
mused. Though it had seemed paranoid at the time, it was obvious that Prue was  
  
right on the money: seeing as she had died two months later.  
  
"I think she did," Paige replied, flicking through the book faster, "I swear I saw it when  
  
I was looking for a Lost and Found spell to help me look for my car keys." Paige  
  
stopped flicking when she noticed that Piper was giving her a warning glance, "Don't  
  
worry- I found them the non-magickal way."  
  
"Also, you're gonna want to refrain from casting that particular spell- it's a lot stronger  
  
than you would think." Phoebe explained. Paige arched her eyebrows at her.  
  
"Don't ask." Phoebe grinned. Paige exhaled and returned her gaze to the book,  
  
"Its here somewhere. ah- found it." Paige smoothed down the page and read the  
  
title of Prue's spell, "To Convoke a Spirit. Not what we need." Phoebe sat down on  
  
the arm of the chair Paige was sat,  
  
"I could rewrite it. A word here, a phrase there. Shouldn't take long." Phoebe picked  
  
up the pad of paper next to the telephone and scribbled down the spell with all the  
  
necessary alterations. She ripped the sheet out and put it on the coffee table.  
  
"Wow," Piper commented, "That was fast!" Phoebe grinned,  
  
"Years of practice, I guess. and the spell wasn't that far off from our goal anyway."  
  
A few minutes later, the sisters were sitting around the coffee table with all the  
  
right tools in front of them: A white candle for purity, a black candle for deflecting  
  
negativity, a blue candle for protection, a yellow candle for balance and a pentacle  
  
drawn in salt (again, for purity) with the orb in the centre. Paige, Piper and Phoebe  
  
joined hands and recited Phoebe's new and improved incantation,  
  
"Gods and Goddesses, hear our plea,  
  
Send your power down to my sisters and me,  
  
Guide us to make magick of well,  
  
Of protection and benevolence, we work this spell,  
  
A lost spirit, locked away,  
  
No longer shall he stay,  
  
Free him from his torturous cell,  
  
Protection and benevolence, we work this spell."  
  
Swirls of light flew from the sisters and into the pentacle, surrounding the orb and  
  
bathing it in golden sparks. The spell wasn't exactly Phoebe's best work, but it  
  
seemed to pack a punch.  
  
The hard shell of the sphere slowly broke open, and a surge of orbs of light  
  
flew out of it, and eventually formed the form of a human.  
  
Benjamin Coleridge Turner in the flesh.  
  
Phoebe's eyes widened at the sight of her ex's father. She had seen a picture of him  
  
in an old newspaper a few years ago, but she didn't realise how much Ben looked  
  
like Cole: with his jet-black hair, peachy complexion and those pale yet shockingly  
  
eye-catching blue eyes. The only things that were different were that he wasn't as  
  
muscular as Cole, and that he had a moustache. Ben looked around him in surprise,  
  
"I'm free? I'm free?" he looked at Piper, who was closest to him,  
  
"I'm free?" He repeated, "What year is this?"  
  
"2003." Piper replied. Ben blinked several times,  
  
"I've been trapped for 115 years." He acknowledged. He looked at Phoebe, "thank  
  
you for freeing me." he paused for a minute to think, "Phoebe." 


	7. Awful discovery for Ben

Commemoration of Cole- Part Seven  
  
"Wait a minute," Paige interrupted, "How did you know her name?"  
  
"My son. Cole. Where is my son?" he asked, not heeding Paige's question. He  
  
looked around the living room. Phoebe stood up and walked over to Ben. She took a  
  
deep breath, not wanting to be the person to tell him the news,  
  
"Mr. Turner. Cole is." Phoebe took another deep breath, "Cole is dead." Ben's  
  
face became paler than it had before- something that a ghost wasn't even able to do,  
  
"Dead?" he echoed, his voice quivering, "For how long?"  
  
"About five or six days." Paige answered softly.  
  
"I should have known." Ben uttered, "He hasn't spoken to me for about a month."  
  
"You two talked to each other?" Piper questioned.  
  
"I didn't- Cole used to tell me about his life," Ben explained, "What he did, what he  
  
went through, who he knew." Ben looked at Phoebe squarely in the eye, "And  
  
loved. He told me about all the things that he planned to do to win you back. It hurt  
  
me, knowing that my son had gone off the deep end and that there was nothing I  
  
could do about it." a stray tear fell down his cheek, "My son." Phoebe put her hand  
  
on his shoulder, led him to the couch and sat him down,  
  
"I knew all these things were happening to him. The powers were corrupting him, the  
  
demonic spells, and he was driven crazy with unrequited love. But I couldn't do  
  
anything. I couldn't tell him anything. No matter how loud I called out to him, my  
  
prison wouldn't let him hear me."  
  
"Demonic spells?" Piper asked, "What demonic spells?"  
  
"I could hear the outside world, I could hear the avatars putting charms in his home:  
  
putting evil influence in his mind."  
  
"The Avatars?" Piper echoed, "What are they?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Ben replied, "I could hear their voices, introducing themselves to my  
  
son, attempting to draw him to them. He continued to say no until he couldn't fight it  
  
anymore. he used his newfound powers.he." Ben bowed his head down.  
  
Phoebe realised that Ben knew what Cole had done, the alternate reality, but  
  
seemed too ashamed to speak it aloud. Paige stared at Ben with sympathy. She  
  
couldn't deny that she despised Cole, but knowing more about his struggle made her  
  
admire him slightly. After all, he was one of the reasons why she was still alive. Then  
  
again, he was one of the reasons why some of the demons had gone after her: the  
  
vampires, the power brokers and Jeric. Paige immediately knocked the resentful  
  
thoughts out of her head- this wasn't a time to be angry at Cole, it was to help his  
  
father move on- something that he won't be able to do until he finally makes peace  
  
with his family. Ben looked up again,  
  
"His love for his family consumed him, the insanity took his life. And all I could do was  
  
watch." Piper sat down next to him,  
  
"Ben, it's not your fault that all that happened to Cole."  
  
"He was raised a demon. It was all he knew," Phoebe added, "You couldn't have  
  
changed that."  
  
"It is my fault. His mother killed me because I betrayed her. She didn't want me near  
  
Cole. Belthazor."  
  
"What happened?" Paige asked. Ben looked away.  
  
"I know it hurts Ben," Piper said gently, "But you won't be able to move on if you don't  
  
let go of all the pain you've held in all this time."  
  
"Okay." Ben replied in a small voice, "I'll tell you." 


	8. The Warning

A/N can I point out that I am aware that this story isn't authentic to the 1800s; this is just a fic about Cole and his parents.  
  
Part 8  
  
*Flashback, 1888*  
  
'Ben!' Elizabeth ran up to her husband as he was heading out of the door,  
  
'Where are you going at 6am?'  
  
'I need to settle a dispute between the Smythes and the Zenfrys. They're expecting me right now.'  
  
'Why must everyone put you in the middle of their problems?'  
  
'Because I'm the town councilman.' Ben formed his sentence slowly, which  
  
caused Elizabeth to frown at him. He sighed and placed his hand under his  
  
wife's chin and lifted it so that he could look into her eyes.  
  
'I'm sorry Liz.' Ben smiled at her, 'But you know what these people are  
  
like. But I want to help them. It's my calling.'  
  
'Oh, I know,' Elizabeth breathed. She planted a kiss on his lips, 'I just hate it  
  
when you leave. But... I can't keep you under house arrest.' Ben's adoring  
  
smile grew wider, and he kissed Elizabeth back,  
  
'I don't know how long I'm going to be- I'm working with battleaxes- but when I  
  
get back, I promise that I will prepare a special night in for you, me and Cole.'  
  
Elizabeth nodded and ushered Ben out of the door,  
  
'Well, then hurry back.' Ben nodded and Elizabeth waved him off. She shut the  
  
door and headed back to the family room. Cole wouldn't wake up for a while,  
  
so she had some time to relax. A dopey smile formed on her face when she  
  
thought of her beloved son and his weird sleeping habits. He was very  
  
punctual: he could be extremely hyperactive at 7:59, but be fast asleep at  
  
8:00. He was a little angel. Serena's smile vanished when she contradicted  
  
herself; *my son isn't an angel, is he? He's half demon'*. Elizabeth had  
  
renounced the dark side when she met Ben. She was supposed to prevent  
  
him from doing any more good in the world, but she fell for him instead. They  
  
had been together for just over four years and he still didn't know the truth...  
  
which was why Elizabeth dreaded the day when Cole would morph into his  
  
demonic form, Belthazor, for the first time. Ben would be crushed. And, what's  
  
worse, her parents would sense Belthazor and come for him. Elizabeth would  
  
never ever give him up, she'd rather die than let her son do any evil. But since  
  
she renounced evil, she couldn't appeal for a power stripping spell from the  
  
Grimoire, and, being a full-blooded demon, she would not be able to seek  
  
help from a good witch. It was out of her control, and Cole's, for that matter.  
  
Within a few minutes, she heard tiny little footsteps, and her three year old  
  
son came out of his nursery,  
  
'Mommy.' He said and gave Elizabeth a hug, 'I'm scared.'  
  
'What happened sweetie?' she asked him gently,  
  
'Big, mean people come after me.' He replied.  
  
'Its okay Cole,' Elizabeth reassured him, 'It was only a bad dream.' As Cole  
  
hugged his mother tightly, her mind was only thinking one thing.  
  
*They're coming.* 


	9. Baby Belthazor

A/N can I point out that I am aware that this story isn't authentic to the 1800s; this is just a fic about Cole and his parents.  
  
Part 9  
  
Elizabeth broke her son's embrace and hoisted him up onto her lap. She  
  
noticed that Cole's warm smile was no longer there, and in its place was a  
  
look of pain.  
  
"Sweetie, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. A sweat broke out on his  
  
forehead and he cried out. Elizabeth's worst fears were confirmed when Cole's  
  
pale skin turned red and black treble markings formed. His shockingly bright,  
  
usually cheerful, blue eyes faded into soulless black eyeballs. Elizabeth gently  
  
put the thing back on the floor. Her beautiful, loving son was gone.  
  
In his place was Belthazor.  
  
Ben Turner squinted under the morning sun as he walked across town. It was  
  
going to take him forever to get to his client's home. He didn't have enough  
  
money to get a horse and cart over there, and his own horse was sick. He had  
  
no choice but to walk. He cheered himself up on the way by thinking of his  
  
wife and son. Unlike his friends' marriages, his hadn't fallen apart after the  
  
birth of their first child. In fact, it had brought them closer. Even though  
  
Elizabeth had been acting a little nervous and shifty lately, but he was sure that  
  
it was common with any first time mother. As far as he knew, Elizabeth was an  
  
only child and didn't grow up around other little kids and therefore was worried  
  
that she might make a mistake with Coleridge.  
  
As far as Ben was concerned, they had both done a great job raising  
  
Coleridge so far. He was really smart for a three-year-old boy and amazingly  
  
gentle. He once approached this stray cat (a Siamese, if Ben remembered  
  
correctly), despite Elizabeth's yelling, that was hissing like nobody's business  
  
and stroked its head. It had looked a little scared at first, but then began to  
  
purr and rub itself against Cole's leg. He had wanted to keep it as a pet, but  
  
their next door neighbour hated cats and literally ran it out of town. Poor Cole  
  
cried like anything that night, so Elizabeth stitched a cat onto his blanket and  
  
attempted to make it look like the one he had befriended. Of course, he had  
  
still been upset, but he loved the blanket even more. Ben's smile grew wider-  
  
as it always did at that particular memory. He remembered how Elizabeth had  
  
been worried that Coleridge would be a very naughty, violent child- though  
  
why she would think that was beyond Ben- and was so happy when her son  
  
turned out to have a soul as pure as the stars.  
  
The love Benjamin felt for his family was overwhelming. He wanted it to stay  
  
that way forever.  
  
Elizabeth held back the tears that threatened to stream out of her eyes out of  
  
the knowledge of what her son had become. She leant down to the baby  
  
demon and gazed deeply into his eyes,  
  
"Cole? Are you there? Come back right now." Luckily, her obedient son was  
  
still in there, and he managed to push Belthazor aside. The red and black skin  
  
melted away, leaving Cole's human form behind, and the pits on his face  
  
morphed back into those loving blue eyes that Cole had inherited from his  
  
parents. Elizabeth blew out a sigh of relief, which stopped halfway when a gust  
  
of wind blew through their small house. Without warning, she grabbed her son  
  
and held him tightly to her, as two forms appeared in front of them.  
  
The demonic grandparents. 


	10. Darned Contraption

A/N can I point out that I am aware that this story isn't authentic to the 1800s; this is just a fic about Cole and his parents.  
  
Part 10  
  
Elizabeth stood up at the sight of her parents, Electra and Sgáth. She knew  
  
exactly why they were here, and she gripped Cole's hand tightly, as he did hers.  
  
Her Electra stepped forward,  
  
"Dakan," she greeted her offspring in monotone. Elizabeth held back the shudder  
  
she felt from hearing her demonic name. Her parents had named her after the  
  
Gujarati word for 'evil witch'. She frowned, feeling nothing but scorn,  
  
"I am not Dakan. Not anymore. I am Elizabeth and I am not one of you."  
  
"Of course you are, Dakan," her father corrected as simply as a mortal father  
  
correcting his child's grammar, "And so is Belthazor." Upon hearing her son's  
  
demonic name, she pulled Cole closer to her,  
  
"No he isn't. You can't have him." Cole wrapped his arms around Elizabeth's legs.  
  
Whether it was out of loyalty to his mother or out of fear of these demons, she  
  
couldn't tell.  
  
"We will have him eventually. And you. Sooner than you think." Sgáth  
  
commented.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Elizabeth demanded.  
  
"Being in your human disguise has made you weak. Unable to see the real truth."  
  
Electra stated.  
  
"You think you're perfectly happy with that despicable human," Sgáth added, "But  
  
we know otherwise. You think he leaves this early for a client. He's seeing  
  
someone else. And she is an important part of his life- more than you."  
  
"You're lying." Elizabeth spat.  
  
"Are we?" Electra asked rhetorically, "You can deny it, but you know we're not  
  
lying. Join us. Free yourself and Belthazor from pain and fully embrace your  
  
demonic heritage."  
  
"Get out."  
  
"It's your destiny, Dakan." Sgáth stated.  
  
"Get out!" Elizabeth practically screamed. Electra and Sgáth gave her one last  
  
glance before shimmering out. Elizabeth sighed with relief, knowing full well how  
  
close she had come to losing her son. Her heart pounded in her ears as the house  
  
filled with silence.  
  
"Mom?" Cole looked up at his mother's panicked face, "Who were they?" Elizabeth  
  
knelt down beside her son and smoothed back his hair,  
  
"No one that you need to worry about, sweetie." Elizabeth assured her son, even  
  
though she didn't believe a word she was saying.  
  
Ben thanked the Heavens that God had blessed him with strong lungs. He had  
  
had to walk all the way to the Smythe household, hoping that the Zenfrys weren't  
  
already there and tearing at his client. Again. He stalked up to the door and  
  
rapped it lightly. As usual, their maid, Mary, answered,  
  
"Mr. Turner!" she exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing here?" Ben raised  
  
his eyebrows,  
  
"I'm here to help Michael regarding the Joseph Zenfry case. He called last night  
  
and said it was important."  
  
"Oh, that new contraption," Mary muttered, "We'll never understand that thing."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.  
  
"I mean that Mr. Smythe didn't call anyone. Not since last week."  
  
"Huh. That's odd." Ben mused aloud, "Maybe it was somebody messing around  
  
with his own telephone."  
  
"Maybe." Mary began to close the door, "Goodbye, Mr. Turner."  
  
"Goodbye."  
  
As soon as the door clicked shut, there was a huge crash. Ben whirled around to  
  
see a delivery wagon crashed sideways blocking the road- the only road- that led  
  
back to Ben's home. Cursing under his breath, Ben turned to take the long way-  
  
through the woods- back home.  
  
In his haste to see his wife and child, he never saw Electra at the scene of the  
  
crime. 


	11. Claudia

A/N can I point out that I am aware that this story isn't authentic to the 1800s; this is just a fic about Cole and his parents.  
  
Part 11  
  
Electra waited until Ben wandered into the forest before stepping out of her hiding place. She cast a  
  
quick invisibility spell over herself and started after him.  
  
Ben stopped in a clearing and looked around. He was definitely lost- he rarely needed to go through  
  
this route, so he didn't need to know this pathway. Stupid wagon. Now what?  
  
In exasperation, he groaned and sat down on a nearby tree stump. Of course, being mortal and all, he  
  
never sensed Electra leaning on a neighbouring hawthorn.  
  
Elizabeth sent Cole to his room to play while she paced up and down the family room. Her mind was  
  
racing- she loved and trusted Ben: two emotions that she hadn't felt for Electra and Sgáth for years.  
  
Why should she question Ben's love and devotion now due to some lie that was made up by two  
  
demons in a pathetic attempt to sway her back to evil?  
  
But was it really a lie?  
  
Elizabeth dismissed the thought as soon as it entered her mind. How could she think that? Her parents  
  
must have got to her even more so than she had realized. Unless they were somehow messing with her  
  
mind.  
  
You know that isn't true.  
  
Damn it! Why could she shut up that annoying voice in her head? If she could meet it, she would: she  
  
would tie it down and slap it silly. Obviously, there was some really twisted part of her that was willing  
  
to believe her demonic parents. She didn't have to worry about anything.  
  
Go check up on him- you know you want to.  
  
"Nothing. There's nothing to worry about. Nothing, nothing, nothing." Elizabeth muttered to herself,  
  
"You love him. You trust him- and he does to you. He would never hurt you."  
  
Use your magic. Track him. Watch him and reveal the truth.  
  
Without thinking, she shimmered out. Sgáth looked upon Dakan's first step to becoming a demon once  
  
more and smiled.  
  
She's here.  
  
Electra's senses prickled when she felt her Dakan shimmer in. She moved out of Ben's viewing range  
  
and removed her invisibility spell. In its place, she put a glamour on herself: now she looked like a  
  
young blonde woman. She stepped back, awaiting her cue.  
  
Elizabeth blinked and looked around, finding herself in the woodland outside the Smythe's home. Then  
  
she spotted Ben in the clearing. What was he doing there? Could her parents be right?  
  
Ben looked up upon hearing a crunching sound. The last thing he expected was to see Elizabeth  
  
standing there,  
  
"Elizabeth!" He exclaimed, standing up, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question." Elizabeth replied flatly, not answering Ben's question.  
  
"There was a mix up at the Smythe's. I wasn't needed there today. I'm here now..." Ben gestured  
  
around him, indicating the forest, "... because a wagon crashed in the-"  
  
"Honey!" Taking her cue, Electra walked out from her hiding place and cut off Ben's sentence. She  
  
kissed his cheek, "Imagine seeing you here!"  
  
Ben stepped back in surprise,  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"Yes. Do tell." Elizabeth demanded, feeling her heart tear apart. Electra winked at her,  
  
"He plays this game a lot. I'm Claudia." She turned back to Ben, "The mother of his daughter."  
  
"WHAT!?" Ben and Elizabeth screeched at the same time. Electra turned back to Elizabeth,  
  
"I found out this morning. Isn't it great? Who are you?"  
  
"I'm Elizabeth. Ben's wife."  
  
"Elizabeth..." Electra looked upwards as if trying to recall the name, "Ah, yes. Ben told me about you:  
  
the delusional woman who thought you guys were together."  
  
"Liz- I never said that." Ben finally managed to speak, "I don't even know this woman." Elizabeth  
  
shook with fury. Without saying anything, she flung out her hand, releasing an energy ball and killing  
  
Claudia,  
  
"Not anymore, you don't." She said simply and walked off. Ben stared after her with a mixture of  
  
confusion, anger, regret and fear on his face. 


	12. Lost Battle

A/N can I point out that I am aware that this story isn't authentic to the 1800s; this is just a fic about Cole and his parents.  
  
Part 12  
  
Ben followed his wife through the forest, not quite believing what had just happened. There is no way  
  
that his peaceful, loving Elizabeth would just kill someone with supernatural powers. He must be going  
  
crazy- he must have imagined it. He called after her,  
  
"Liz! Stop!" Elizabeth skidded to a halt and spun around, her faced twisted in pain and fury,  
  
"How could you do this to me? Your wife? How could you do this to your son?"  
  
"Liz... there's nothing going on between me and that woman. I've never met her before in my life."  
  
"Right!" Elizabeth hurled another energy ball, this time at Ben. He dropped to the ground and the bolt  
  
missed him. He looked up in shock,  
  
"What are you?"  
  
"I'm someone who won't let you near my son again." She waved her hand and murmured a few words  
  
in a language Ben didn't understand. His eyes widened in shock, not knowing what was about to  
  
happen. Before his very eyes, his son appeared before him.  
  
"Cole?" Cole looked around him. His beautiful blue eyes alternated glances between his parents,  
  
"Dad? Mommy? Where am I?" Elizabeth pulled him closer to her,  
  
"It's okay sweetie. You're safe with me." She looked up at Ben and she transformed into Dakan. Her  
  
soft yet chiselled featured mutated into a hideous beast. Her pale skin turned purple and black tribal  
  
markings appeared on her face, and her hazel eyes became like two black holes: absorbing anything  
  
and everything, destroying all. When Cole saw what he mother had become, he backed away with tears  
  
running down his face. He clasped onto his father's shirt and refused to let go.  
  
Ben, trying to suppress the mounting horror in his heart, scooped his son into his arms,  
  
"You... you're a demon." He backed away, first slowly, then he spun away and ran for his life. His  
  
beloved Elizabeth was no longer there. This demon was in her place, and there was no way in Heaven  
  
or Hell that she was going to get her hands on his son.  
  
The thoughts were barely registering in his head. First, the woman who pretended to be Ben's lover;  
  
then Elizabeth killing her; and her conjuring Cole from nowhere and turning into... that. Ben had  
  
always wondered if demons and witches existed, which he knew for sure four years ago when  
  
Elizabeth protected him from a demon. Now, after three safe heavenly years, his greatest fears were  
  
true: the thing that tried to kill him is also what his own wife, his soul mate, had become. Although he  
  
couldn't even begin to understand it, every fibre of his being was telling him to run for the sake of his  
  
own life... and Cole's.  
  
"Give me my son!" Dakan ran after Ben and gained on him. She grabbed Cole and pushed him away.  
  
"No!" Ben cried out. His heart began to pump faster, telling him to fight. But he knew that no matter  
  
how hard he tried, the battle was over.  
  
Elizabeth conjured a fireball and threw it at Ben. The flames licked at his skin and consumed him in a  
  
matter of seconds. The last thing he heard was Cole wailing in distress.  
  
The battle was over. And Ben had lost it. 


	13. Moving on with Cole

A/N- Welcome back to the 21st century. Hope you've enjoyed the fiction so far: don't worry; it'll be ending soon...  
  
Part 13  
  
Ben dropped to the sofa in defeat. The portal that had opened up when he began to tell the story  
  
shrivelled up and disappeared.  
  
"Mr. Turner, are you okay?" Paige asked, leaning forward.  
  
"I lost my son to evil. He never had a chance. And it's all my fault."  
  
"Mr. Turner, you can't blame yourself for that. You were tricked into it." Piper reasoned with him,  
  
"Elizabeth reacted the way any woman would have."  
  
"If they were demons." Paige added, and then let out a quiet yelp when Piper kicked her.  
  
"I guess not," Ben relaxed, "But I just wish I had got away. Maybe I could have got my son back.  
  
Maybe, if I had gone to a good witch and asked her to strip his powers. I could have raised him to be  
  
good."  
  
"Mr. Turner, you're son was a good man." Phoebe finally spoke. Even though it pained her to do so,  
  
"Demonic and evil corruption aside, he did a lot of good when he was on our side. He helped us save  
  
so many innocents... and saved our butts a lot too."  
  
"In his last few years, he did so much good," Paige added, "What more could you ask for?"  
  
Ben didn't say anything. He simply looked up when he heard jingling in the air. He took a deep  
  
breath,  
  
"I think it's time for me to finally move on. Thank you for that." He stood up and turned to Phoebe,  
  
"As much as Cole wanted to be human, he always told me that he was glad he was a demon. That way,  
  
he was alive long enough to meet you. When he did, he learnt compassion and how worthwhile it was  
  
to help others."  
  
All four of them felt a breeze, and another form appeared in front of them.  
  
Cole.  
  
"Cole?" Ben asked, not quite believing his eyes.  
  
"Dad?" Cole's ghost looked hopeful, silently begging that he wasn't imagining that his father was  
  
finally free.  
  
"Cole?" Paige stared at him, "No offence, but shouldn't you be in..."  
  
"Hell?" Cole finished, "My demonic half went to Hell, but my human half went to the good place. I  
  
have you guys to thank for that." Cole stepped away from his father and walked towards the sisters,  
  
"All of you: Paige, Piper, Prue, Leo and..." his gaze settled on her, "Phoebe."  
  
Phoebe stood up. As she began to say something, Cole lifted his hand,  
  
"There's nothing to say, Phoebe. You guys did the right thing by vanquishing me. I had to be stopped  
  
somehow." He looked into Phoebe's mocha coloured eyes, "I don't think I can forgive you for what  
  
you put me through. But you made a choice- and I respect that. As happy as we would have been  
  
together, the pain would have been worse... you made the right choice."  
  
Cole turned back to his father and took his hand. Ben gave one more smile to the Charmed Ones and  
  
both of them disappeared in a swirl of bright light. 


	14. Epilogue

A/N- Last chapter- finally! The epilogue is set in the 1800's. Cole is 17 years old. Notice Cole's reaction to the old man- sound familiar?  
  
Part 14  
  
Cole wandered around the Halloween fair with his mother. As he walked past a water filled barrel, an  
  
old man popped out and held an apple towards him,  
  
"Would you like to know the name of your true love, sir?" Cole spun around to face the man,  
  
"Sorry?"  
  
"With the peel of this apple, you will be able to see the first initial of your true love's name."  
  
"And how does this apple know this huge secret?"  
  
"Apples are the fruit of knowledge, Master Turner. Are you sure you don't want to try?"  
  
"Humour him, Coleridge." Elizabeth whispered in her son's ear, "We have time to kill, before other  
  
things."  
  
"How does it work?" Cole asked. The man peeled the apple and held out the peel,  
  
"Blow on it, then toss it into the water." Cole followed the instructions and watched it intently. The  
  
apple peel slowly formed the shape of...  
  
"The letter is 'P'."  
  
"Thank you." Cole replied flatly, "Let's go Mom."  
  
Both of them hurried away.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"By the way, you never answered my question." Cole said to his mother.  
  
"What question?"  
  
"What happened to my father?"  
  
"He died. That's all."  
  
"Mom- I can sense lies, you know that. If you won't tell me, I will find out myself- I've waited long  
  
enough." Cole stopped and put his hand on the side of his mother's head and started a tath meanma (so  
  
that he could see for himself).  
  
Horrid images unfurled before him. He saw his mother kill a blonde woman, and then walk away. He  
  
saw her run after his father, who was carrying a three year old version of Cole. Ultimately, he saw his  
  
mother snatch Cole away and murder Ben. He broke away,  
  
"You killed my dad?"  
  
"He betrayed me."  
  
"Mom- I am not a whole demon. I understand humans- why didn't you just talk it out?"  
  
"I'm a demon. I don't talk things out. I kill who betrays me. You're contaminated- you don't  
  
understand."  
  
"If that's the criteria for being a demon..." Cole shook with anger as an energy ball formed in his hand.  
  
He turned into Belthazor and threw the energy ball at Elizabeth.  
  
She turned into Dakan as she tried to fight it off, but the flames consumed her and she exploded.  
  
Belthazor dropped to his knees and screamed at the top of his lungs.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
That's the end! This is the mystery solved from 'The Demon Who Came In From the Cold', when Vornac says to Cole that he got Cole out of a lot of trouble caused by his flippant attitude: this is my explanation. He killed his mother out of loyalty to his dead father, and he was caught by the Brotherhood. Please review!!!! 


End file.
